I’m sitting here thinking about this evening. We started planning for today months ago and didn’t know that an event featuring 4 amazing young speakers would be the outcome, but here we are. I met Jeff Salz about 18 months ago when Armstrong first came to the US from Uganda. A mutual friend put us together because Jeff had semi-adopted a young Sudanese Lost Boy named Alefo and we had something very significant in common. In the end Jeff and I have become great friends and I saw something in Jeff that was amazing.

Jeff had worked with Alefo for a year to help him become an amazing public speaker, telling his story with such grace and elegance, it was spectacular to watch. In the end I don’t believe that Alefo wanted to be a speaker, so he went in a different direction. This didn’t diminish Jeff’s ability as a coach and so I started introducing him to these young millennial speakers that needed help and he jumped all over it.

We have worked with 7 young people so far and we are featuring 4 of them in a showcase tonight at the Carlsbad Village Theatre. In addition to the 4 millennials, our daughter, Drew, will have 5-7 minutes to share some thoughts of her own about how our recent global adventure has shaped her life. I couldn’t be more proud of what we are doing and what we can create by investing in young people to help them monetize their genius so they never have to get a job!

I continue to invest in relationships that feel right, with people that have shared common purpose and shared common values. I am learning with each passing day that the more I invest in these relationships the more full my life becomes. I am so excited about the journey ahead and excited to experience tonight as a small participant and a huge spectator!